Weddingbee Blog

Early on in our wedding discussions, my guy mentioned three things he wanted: 1) a yummy cake, 2) our wedding at home, and 3) to look like James Bond.

Not able to afford Brioni suits, we went on a hunt for the same look: classic, but with modern tailoring. My guy’s interpretation was a black two-button suit with flat-front pants. Did you get that? Two button suit with flat front pants. And therein began a six month’s long search that finally (FINALLY) ended at Macy’s.com with the Tommy Hilfiger Black Trim Fit Suit Separate.

source

{Public service announcement from the Bee-roadcast System: Macy’s is having a one day sale TODAY, and that suit is another $80 off, so it’s now less than half of the original price. Go now. And thanks to Pengy for getting this post up ASAP so that you’d be able to save some dough.}

source: www.macys.com

Mr. Cheese has what suit makers would call an “athletic” or “trim” body - the line from his shoulders to his waist is a “V.” Without the right cut, the suit is too big around his mid-section (and when faced with that in the mirror, he makes the saddest, most pathetic unhappy face!). Most “modern” or “athletic” or “trim” fit jackets are three-button, which he doesn’t like. Most “classic” two-button suits come with pleated pants (again, resulting in the unhappy face) and a boxier jacket.

We got the suit super quick and the jacket fit bee-yoo-tifully (and caused Mr. Cheese to try out some suave dance moves in the mirror!), but the pants were a bit small. Note: if your man falls between sizes and the suit is a “trim”, “modern”, or “athletic” cut, go with the bigger size!

Macy’s customer service was amazing. I didn’t have to wait on hold, didn’t have to enter any crazy information to an automated system, and within a few minutes I had a return shipping label in my inbox. My refund was credited within a week and I ordered the correct pants today, which I’ll receive in about a week. And I didn’t have to escort an increasingly tired and frustrated man through a mall this time. Voila! Oh, yea, and the whole thing was on sale. Score.

He’ll wear the suit with a white Calvin Klein shirt and silver Geoffrey Beene silk tie (bought at Marshall’s for $15 and $10 respectively). I’m very happy with the quality of the suit, weight of the wool, and fit. He’ll be able to wear it for many future occasions, dressed up with a tie or down with an oxford.

Lessons learned:

• If your guy doesn’t know what he wants to wear, make him (er, prod nicely?) try a bunch of suits on. Much like wedding dresses, what you think you want and what you like on are often different. You’ll know you found the right suit when he checks himself out in the mirror, does that pointing-at-the-mirror-and-making-a-clicking-sound thing, or throws out a few dance steps.
• Have him wear black socks to try suits on. I don’t care how good your imagination is, picturing James Bond in white socks under a black suit will exceed those bounds. While you’re at it, suggest a white undershirt for the occasion.
• Jackets from a “separates” collection are often not tailorable for sleeve length. If they have real buttons and buttonholes, you can’t shorten the sleeves without the button getting wonky. Jackets that are tailorable will have no buttonholes, just buttons on the outside sleeve cuff (sneaky, sneaky!).
• A correctly fitting jacket won’t pucker at the seams, won’t pull at the biceps, and won’t gap at the lapels (they will lay flat). He should be able to twist, turn, and pretend to be The Hulk successfully.

We’ll talk about the groomsmen’s attire soon!